Jewish voters know the scene well. Politicians show up at our synagogues, community events and Jewish homes for the aging — all talking up “Jewish values,” all trying to speak the language of the Jewish community. This election season, we are seeing more of the same. Yet the trick for our community and congregations is to decipher who really means...

“Americans who support Israel should take the president at his word,” wrote Haim Saban recently in The New York Times , claiming President Barack Obama is fully committed to the Jewish state. But is that true? Should we take him at his word? No, not when Israel confronts the threat of nuclear annihilation by Iran. Time and again President Obama...

RJC Ad Was Enough to Make Your Blood Boil I look forward to reading the Jewish Exponent every week to help bring me up to date on Jewish-related events and news in the area and other interesting articles of a Jewish nature. I do not read the paper to see misguided political ads! On page 4 of the Oct. 18...

The reaction was fast and furious — and rightly so. American Jews were outraged by the notion that an Israeli woman could be arrested for praying at the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. The incident occurred last week, when activist Anat Hoffman, leading a group of women in prayers to mark the new month, was taken into custody and allegedly...

I am concerned, very concerned, that we are turning away from the most important words of the Torah. Rabbi Akiba is quoted in the Talmud as saying, “The most significant words in the Torah are the words that God created human beings in God’s own image.” Everything we do follows from this insight. We learn that we must treat others...